Random Banter #239 - Now 50% more tangible!

[Khedrac]

Yeah, I'll pass on anything mint flavored.

Which Mint? "Peppermint" and "Spearmint" are different flavours coming from different, if related, plants.

That said, tastes vary so I have no issues with people who don't care for the flavour of mint, personally I can't stand cola.

[Mystic Muse]

Which Mint?

D. All of the above.

[HalfTangible]

Tbh at this point I'd take teenager again.

I'll pass. Being a teenager is like being an adult without the perks, like being slightly taller or having disposable income.

I'm currently paying more to keep living than I have at any other point in my life, but I feel freer than I ever did as a kid, in no small part because I have actual income and can do what I want with it. (also I work remotely)

I can give money to people who need it whenever I want. I can eat pizza whenever I want. I can go out to eat whenever I want. I can go play laser tag whenever I want.

Sure, there's limits to it (I still have yearly/biyearly MRIs I need to be there for and bills every month) but I don't have to work around anyone else's schedule or be voluntold what to do at ever hour of the day like I did as a kid.

This feeling of increased freedom after getting bills to pay might be solely or even largely because I no longer have to take care of my mother (who can no longer walk) on a daily basis.

---

>Have a large file that doesn't move over properly
>Keep trying for more than a day
>Demonstrate it doesn't work to coworkers
>They're just as baffled as i am, nobody can figure it out
>Get on video call to manager to show
>Change nothing
>WORKS 1ST TIME

Ah, software development

[Peelee]

I wouldn't say I love it. Those are the only two scenarios where I tolerate it. Haven't found a sugarfree gum with a taste I like, and the options I have for non-ming toothoaste are very limited.

I am still livid - livid - that Crest discontinued their Citrus Splash line

[Fyraltari]

Spoiler: I have just read this

Show

The simple fact that it exists is delightful to me in ways I cannot properly articulate.
Not in a million years would I have guessed that seeing Obélix straight-up crush a legionarie's head into a bloody pulp in a cutesy drawing style would bring me such joy.

[LaZodiac]

Mint is for toothpaste and gum, not something you're supposed to ingest.

I love you forever and ever but also I cannot disagree more slams back a 100 pack of tic-tacs.

But of course, that's not bad. To each their own is an important thing!

[Mystic Muse]

I love you forever and ever but also I cannot disagree more slams back a 100 pack of tic-tacs.

But of course, that's not bad. To each their own is an important thing!

Look, you like pickles, your taste clearly cannot be trusted.

[enderlord99]

Orange-flavored tictacs are great, but I don't see what that has to do with the prior discussion.

EDIT: The latter half of the sentence was mildly ironic. I'm saying this so my signature doesn't throw things off.

[Form]

I love you forever and ever but also I cannot disagree more slams back a 100 pack of tic-tacs.

But of course, that's not bad. To each their own is an important thing!

Look, you like pickles, your taste clearly cannot be trusted.

Wait, wait, I have an idea.....

Mint flavored pickles! Yeah? Yeah!

... or pickle flavored mints?

Orange-flavored tictacs are great, but I don't see what that has to do with the prior discussion.

EDIT: The latter half of the sentence was mildly ironic. I'm saying this so my signature doesn't throw things off.

We can add orange mint flavored pickles too. We're gonna be rich! Rich, I say!

[Mystic Muse]

Wait, wait, I have an idea.....

Mint flavored pickles! Yeah? Yeah!

... or pickle flavored mints?



We can add orange mint flavored pickles too. We're gonna be rich! Rich, I say!

I'm going to blame you for the existence of pickle-juice slushees.

[Rater202]

I'm going to blame you for the existence of pickle-juice slushees.

I think a little piece of my soul just died.

[Anonymouswizard]

I think a little piece of my soul just died.

Oh, don't worry those grow back.

At least I hope so. Otherwise I've got a lot of explaining to do.

[enderlord99]

I'm going to blame you for the existence of pickle-juice slushees.

Those things taste better than they at first sound, IMO.

[LaZodiac]

Wait, wait, I have an idea.....

Mint flavored pickles! Yeah? Yeah!

... or pickle flavored mints?

... I'm not gonna lie that sounds disgusting but I AM intrigued none the less. I'd absolutely give'em like a shot.

[Lord Raziere]

my mind has been a usual mix of going through various writing ideas from trying to make an Exalted world with the serial numbers filed off, to trying to get a bunch of cool ideas for a setting down hoping to work backwards from the all things I find cool to make something but nothing, to being indecisive about what powers my protagonist should have, to suddenly making a better start for my story that is more natural than my last one, as well as trying to write my ideas down more often as I think of them and try to lay them out rather than letting sit in my head. also sometimes I wonder if my brother was right about me having undiagnosed ADD, which given my autism is not out of the question but I'm not sure since I can focus on something for hours when I'm really interested in something like when I get a new book and just read it endlessly. but then again I could go for an ATLA inspired world which is probably a good source to work from, maybe I need to make a list of what I will include for certain regardless of details and genre when writing so that I know what my style and foundation is. I've also tried making a map of a world from taking a random generator map that I liked then filling in details and features but I realized that I don't know enough about geography and don't know how to start for the sake of writing, only to be distracted by brother giving me a steam gift card allowing to get a bunch steam games on the sale for my birthday about 11 or 12 days after it happened which is fine, all the while episode 12 of Rotgrind is playing in the background, my life is a storm of ideas sometimes and I only wish I focus long enough to make them come to fruition, like is my protagonists power should be abstract or concrete? how flexible should it be? should it compliment their competence or limit it by making them do more with less?

I need something to focus my writing I think, I go all over the place and nothing gets done.

[HalfTangible]

my mind has been a usual mix of going through various writing ideas from trying to make an Exalted world with the serial numbers filed off, to trying to get a bunch of cool ideas for a setting down hoping to work backwards from the all things I find cool to make something but nothing, to being indecisive about what powers my protagonist should have, to suddenly making a better start for my story that is more natural than my last one, as well as trying to write my ideas down more often as I think of them and try to lay them out rather than letting sit in my head. also sometimes I wonder if my brother was right about me having undiagnosed ADD, which given my autism is not out of the question but I'm not sure since I can focus on something for hours when I'm really interested in something like when I get a new book and just read it endlessly. but then again I could go for an ATLA inspired world which is probably a good source to work from, maybe I need to make a list of what I will include for certain regardless of details and genre when writing so that I know what my style and foundation is. I've also tried making a map of a world from taking a random generator map that I liked then filling in details and features but I realized that I don't know enough about geography and don't know how to start for the sake of writing, only to be distracted by brother giving me a steam gift card allowing to get a bunch steam games on the sale for my birthday about 11 or 12 days after it happened which is fine, all the while episode 12 of Rotgrind is playing in the background, my life is a storm of ideas sometimes and I only wish I focus long enough to make them come to fruition, like is my protagonists power should be abstract or concrete? how flexible should it be? should it compliment their competence or limit it by making them do more with less?

I need something to focus my writing I think, I go all over the place and nothing gets done.

Why not combine/mix them?

If you're not good at/interested in geography, start with something else you're good at/interested in and work from there. A world where people can manipulate the elements with their bare hands (like Avatar) is naturally going to create ideas and scenarios like "hey what if we had giant pyramid cities surrounded by cliffs, raised up by earthbenders in the past?" or "if these guys can manipulate fire and heat then they would've developed metallurgy faster than the other nations" and similar.

Exalted is a fun setting and we need more like it.

[Lord Raziere]

Why not combine/mix them?

If you're not good at/interested in geography, start with something else you're good at/interested in and work from there. A world where people can manipulate the elements with their bare hands (like Avatar) is naturally going to create ideas and scenarios like "hey what if we had giant pyramid cities surrounded by cliffs, raised up by earthbenders in the past?" or "if these guys can manipulate fire and heat then they would've developed metallurgy faster than the other nations" and similar.

Exalted is a fun setting and we need more like it.

Yes I just came up with that as well, but your expanding on that, yes. I've always thought that the only Airbenders we get were peaceful monks were a little too monoculture even if its a good idea and well executed, like maybe wind-users who are more like raiders? thieves? more pragmatic nomads in general? while Exalted.....the biggest problem/hurdle/issue I think with them is maybe that benders are relatively common and something integrated into society wherever they go, but Exalts are rare and special so you can't just combine completely because I'll have to decide how common the elemental users are, and whats most frustrating is that its incredibly frustrating to come up with a name for the Dragon-blooded alikes/expies because there is no words that encompass all the elements! like element is just so clunky a word to include in anything when the entire point is to have fancy cool names for everything and white wolf/onyx path lucked out on being able to come up with Dragon-Blooded! even Benders have the problem of being synonyms for two things I remember that can make their usage look funny if the person doesn't have the context, and it frustrates me to no end, because all the synonyms of "element" don't WORK! I think title of Inheritors work because it gets across the idea that their elemental powers are inherited and sounds properly mystical? but maybe just Heirs would work better?

anything involving the sun would be the rarest of course, got to keep THAT consistent. but I could probably change Abyssals to something I'd prefer, whatever they're going to do with them, I'm probably not going to care about. could probably change up the politics of my version of Dragon-Blooded so that maybe they aren't all concentrated in one empire and have something more like a Naruto nation set up where there are multiple national superpowers working against each other, help get across the GoT-nature of them better maybe? or just a bunch of warring states somewhere? Both? Maybe the bloodlines can be more flexible than Dragon-Blooded and thus make types that are of different elements sometimes....gah! mind! going a mile a minute, cutting this post off here.

EDIT: WAIT! maybe I can add Okami into this! that seems fitting!

[Rater202]

Gonna try and make a low-sugar barbeque sauce for the 4th. We managed to get some of the sugar-free brown sugar stuff and a can of tomato sauce(which has significantly less sugar than the ketchup I normally use.)

Gotta add vinegar to the recipe and up the proportions of certain spices but we've got everything we need to do it.

Though the brown sugar substitute was a little expensive. Mom said not to ask for it again for a while.

[Manga Shoggoth]

Spoiler: I have just read this

Show

The simple fact that it exists is delightful to me in ways I cannot properly articulate.
Not in a million years would I have guessed that seeing Obélix straight-up crush a legionarie's head into a bloody pulp in a cutesy drawing style would bring me such joy.

I'm familliar with (in fact, grew up with) Asterix, but I don't know what it is being parodied by. (My french comics and cartoons are limited to Asterix, the original Barbarella and Les Shadocks. And Magic Roundabout, but I'm not sure that counts in translation...)

[Fyraltari]

I'm familliar with (in fact, grew up with) Asterix, but I don't know what it is being parodied by. (My french comics and cartoons are limited to Asterix, the original Barbarella and Les Shadocks. And Magic Roundabout, but I'm not sure that counts in translation...)

Les Nouvelles Aventures de Lapinot, it's a comedy series that is either very weird slice of-life or sticking its main cast into a specific genre and being weird and funny about it.

[Anonymouswizard]

I just got a new game, but I'm not sure I'm authorised to read this. Most of the box is clearly ultraviolet clearance.

Also picked up the first volume of Die, which should be interesting.

[Manga Shoggoth]

Les Nouvelles Aventures de Lapinot, it's a comedy series that is either very weird slice of-life or sticking its main cast into a specific genre and being weird and funny about it.

Ohh, ta. Apparantly translated as "The Spiffy Adventures of McConey". I'll keep an eye out, although I doubt that the translators will be as capable as Bell and Hockridge (the translators of Asterix).

[Fyraltari]

Ohh, ta.

What does "ta" mean?

[Metastachydium]

What does "ta" mean?

It's informal/colloquial British for 'thank you', or so I heard.

[Manga Shoggoth]

What does "ta" mean?

It's informal/colloquial British for 'thank you', or so I heard.

It is indeed.

[Rater202]

Low sugar barbeque sauce ended up a bit more tomatoey than I'm used to, but it should be fine after cooling and settling overnight.

Edit: Tried a bit more of it befor eI put int in the fridge to seetle. Even just an hour of cooling improved the flavor a bit but I may have used too much cayenne.

[Peelee]

It's informal/colloquial British for 'thank you', or so I heard.

Most of my current knowledge of British informal colloquialisms comes from Billy Butcher, so "ta" is much more gentle than I would have expected.

[Altair_the_Vexed]

Most of my current knowledge of British informal colloquialisms comes from Billy Butcher, so "ta" is much more gentle than I would have expected.

Goodness! We're all far more genteel that that odious oik. You do realise Downton Abbey was a documentary? Everyone talks like the Queen, David Attenborough, or that luverly Richard Van Dyke's chimmernee sweep.

[Anonymouswizard]

Goodness! We're all far more genteel that that odious oik. You do realise Downton Abbey was a documentary? Everyone talks like the Queen, David Attenborough, or that luverly Richard Van Dyke's chimmernee sweep.

Going by my polycule.... Mr Van Dyke is the only one not represented. Plus shame on you for not bringing up Michael Caine.

We also have a Dane, but they don't speak like Sandi Toksvig.

[Rater202]

Okay, tested the sauce after letting it set overnight. Is delicious.

Recipe.

3 leveled tablespoons of brown sugar substitute and 1/2 teaspoon each of onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, and kosher salt goes into a sauce pot and is stirred to combine.

Meanwhile, one tablespoon each of red wine vinegar, soy sauce, and wostershershire sauce are combined in a separate vessel. Once the spices and sugar substitute are properly blended, pour the liquid over it nd stir to combine. The sugar and spice blend will not completly dissolve in his much liquid, don't try to make it.

Next... I sort of ran out of clean measuring equipment so just eyeballed this part: What I estimate to be about a quarter cup of American-style yellow mustard and somewhere between half and three-fourths of a can of Hunt's brand tomato sauce are added, then again, stir to combine.

At this point, the sauce was looking a little too red so I added a few more dashes of the soy sauce for color.

Once everything is combined turn onto the burner and heat to a heavy boil while stirring slowly, after about a minute of boil kill the heat and stir vigorously, then let sit with a lid for about an hour to cool and then move to a sealed container in the fridge to settle overnight.

The net result is a sauce that's a little savory, a little sour, a little bitter, a little sweet, and very spicey. It's good, but it's strong. A little bit goes a long way. It's got a very complex flavor and the heat sort of hits you as an aftertaste instead of being upfront which is what I was going for.

I might need to tinker with the spice ratio a little bit but I think this was a success.